DURHAM — The University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team is the official host of this weekend’s NCAA Northeast Regional, but they won’t have the shortest drive of the four teams.

That belongs to UMass-Lowell, which is the No. 1 seed and is closer to the Verizon Wireless Arena than UNH by two miles.

Lowell coach Norm Bazin said he expects River Hawk fans to come out in droves when they face Wisconsin in the first regional semifinal on Friday afternoon (4:30 p.m.).

“They gobbled up the tickets very quickly,” Bazin said. “(It) could be one of the great sites in the NCAA tournament. Our fans have been great all year long. Both the students and community really bring it to life. We’re ecstatic they get to share in this opportunity with us and give us a lift.”

Lowell is third overall in the tournament field and is 26-10-2 after sweeping both the Hockey East regular season and tournament championships. The River Hawks stumbled to a 4-7-1 start to the season, including three losses to UNH, but have won 22 of their last 26 and are riding a five-game winning streak into Manchester.

“We feel that we’re a stronger threat than we were last year,” Bazin said. “We’ve got solid goaltending and offensive contributions from a lot of sources.”

Wisconsin (22-12-7 overall) arrives in Manchester as fourth seed in the regional and No. 14 overall. The Badgers also started slow, winning just one of their first 10 games, but go into Friday’s game having won six straight, including a 3-2 win over Colorado College in the WCHA tournament final last Saturday in St. Paul, Minn.

“We’ve been playing playoff hockey, you could almost say, since the beginning of December,” Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said. “We’ve learned to live with that mindset, prepare with that mindset and play to that. And I think that’s been a benefit for us.”

Lowell ranks in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense (2.08 goals per game) and penalty killing (85.7 percent). A big part of the River Hawks’ defensive success is due to the play of rookie goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who leads the country in save percentage (94.9) and winning percentage (18-2, .900) and is second in goals-against average (1.39) and shutouts (five).

“Our goaltending has been stellar, no question,” Bazin said. “Our defense, with some added size, has kept some shots outside, and when you do that you have a chance.”

Lowell is searching for its first-ever berth in the Frozen Four after falling a game short last year. The River Hawks were the No. 3 seed in last year’s Northeast Regional in Bridgeport, Conn., beating Miami (Ohio) 4-3 in the regional semifinal but falling 4-2 to Union (N.Y.) in the championship.

Junior forward Michael Mersch leads the Badgers in scoring with 23 goals and 13 assists. Primary goaltender Joel Rumpel boasts a 1.85 goals-against average and a record of 16-8-4. He made 20 saves against Colorado College in the WCHA final.

The Badgers hope to return to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2010, when they lost 5-0 to Boston College in the national championship game in Detroit. Wisconsin last won the NCAA title in 2006, when it was a 2-1 winner over BC in Milwaukee.

“I think that every team in this tournament can beat any other team,” Eaves said. “We’ve seen that all year in our league and playing in our non-conference games. Any team in this 16-team tournament can win. (The) issue for us is maintaining what we have and keep rolling.”

BC (22-11-4) is the only other Hockey East school in the 16-team field. The Eagles begin their NCAA title defense on Saturday vs. Union (21-12-5) as the No. 3 seed in the East Regional in Providence, R.I. The Eagles are making their 32nd NCAA tournament appearance overall, including their 14th in the last 16 seasons under coach Jerry York.

“We’re concerned about any team you play in the national tournament because you know they’re a good club,” York said. “They’ve all qualified. Union certainly is one of those teams with a legitimate chance to win a national title. We watched them play last year and they’re gritty, they’re very well-schooled in fundamentals.”

Union lost to Ferris State (Mich.) in last year’s national semifinal — BC went on to beat Ferris in the title game.

No. 1 overall seed Quinnipiac (27-7-5) will take on Canisius (19-18-5) in the other opening-round game in the East Regional.

“Our region, when you look at it, there are two returning teams from last year’s Frozen Four,” York said. “We have the top seed in the whole 16-team field in Quinnipiac, and the Cinderella team in Canisius. You watch Florida Gulf Coast (in basketball). I think it’s a real good field.”

The West Regional kicks off on Friday with No. 2 overall seed Minnesota (26-8-5) facing Yale (18-12-3), followed by North Dakota (21-12-7) vs. Niagara (23-9-5).

No. 4 overall seed Notre Dame (25-12-3), which will join Hockey East next season, will face St. Cloud (Minn.) State (23-15-1) in the Midwest Regional on Saturday in Toledo, Ohio. The winner of that game will face the winner of the second regional semifinal between Miami (24-11-5) and Minnesota State Mankato (24-13-3) for a trip to the Frozen Four.Information from the Wisconsin State Journal was used in this report.